Diocese of Colorado: Finding faith in "The Wilderness"

By Electa Draper
The Denver Post
02/15/2009

Excerpt:
The Wilderness is bishop-approved Episcopalianism, but it seeks to be somewhat unconventional — a mainstream church exploring some swifter, smaller religious currents.

The Wilderness is riding one evangelical trend — small niche Christian congregations called emergent churches — and bucking another — the megachurch.

The emergent church, a form of evangelism that took root in the U.S. in the 1990s, generally attempts to attract congregants 18-30 years old or some other constituency aloof to the institutional church.

Many of these boutique churches say they return to Christianity's early roots. Many incorporate elements of mysticism and social activism. Each seeks to offer something different from what's already out there.

The Wilderness service, [Rev. Peter] Eaton said, offers ancient tradition, classical liturgy, rich musical heritage, sensual setting — all this and wide-open minds.

"We're trying to explore new ways of worshiping," he said.

The "sermon" is sometimes a sermon, sometimes a conversation, and sometimes a short film or a slide show. After church, the congregation adjourns to a nearby pub to continue the discussion.

When The Wilderness was launched in late 2007, there was concern among some parishioners about using one of the oldest churches in Denver for something of an experiment.

"Some called us the New Age service," Wall said. "Others predicted we'd be gone in a year." the rest